BRAY, IRELAND

 

BRAY, IRELAND

On April 16, the Inmersion Course began. Destination: Bray, Ireland. Our students with the help, suppor and guide of our four teachers Mª Carmen, Beatriz, Patricia and Melissa, were able to enjoy Irish ulture and improve their linguistic skills in the language of Shakespeare. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICHELE REGALLA

MICHELE REGALLA

The goal of the research I am conducting is to investigate bilingual educational strategies in the secondary schools of Malaga, Spain in order to inform educational practices in the U.S. I will examine how bilingual programs are structured for secondary students who are learning academic content in both English and Spanish. Bilingual education, where students receive academic instruction in two languages, is known as Content and Language Integrated Model (CLIL) in Europe. Since the start of the European Union, the European Commission has supported a model of bilingual education in order to address the needs of citizens living in a global economy.

Bilingual education has not enjoyed such popularity throughout the United States. For example, the state of Florida is ranked third in the U.S. for the number of students enrolled in public schools who speak Spanish at home and are learning English as a second language. Despite the large number of Spanish speaking students, Florida is classified as an "English-only" state, meaning that bilingual education is not officially recognized. However, bilingual charter schools are on the rise and a number of school districts have begun to open their own programs due to the increased need for bilingual education. Without state recognition, many teachers are starting bilingual programs lacking the training to be effective. Florida is in need of current research in best practices to inform bilingual education and prepare effective teachers.

Since my arrival in Malaga, I have visited four different secondary schools including public, private, and concertados to observe the types of strategies used for bilingual instruction. I have been invited to observe in 26 different classrooms including subjects such as math, science, history, art, physical education, business, philosophy, and English. I have interviewed 17 teachers, many of whom have shared their teaching materials with me. One of the secondary schools I visited was Universidad Laboral in Malaga. This is a highly populated secondary school with a large campus. I spent 3 days visiting teachers in biology, chemistry, art, English, and economics. Two of the classes I observed were taught by English language teaching assistants. The other classes were taught by the teachers and the English level of the teachers I observed was quite high. Many of the teachers used English for most (at least 90%) of the lesson and used Spanish to translate new vocabulary words or clarify a concept for students. Some teachers reported to me that the students’ level of English in their classes was mixed so they chose to speak about 50% of the time in English and the other 50% in Spanish so that students would understand the academic content while learning English. 

The teachers I observed were very helpful, dedicated, and open to answering my questions. They all stated they are motivated to prepare lessons in English and communicated their commitment to bilingual education. The teachers explained that although some students may struggle, it is important for them to learn academic content in English to improve educational and career opportunities for their future. 

TEODORA PRERADOVIC

Hi! My name is Tea and I’ve been working as an auxiliar de conversación in Málaga’s Universidad Laboral Núm. 1 since the fall of 2023. I’m from Chicago in the United States and this is my second year as an auxiliar. Last year, I was placed in northern Spain in the region of Cantabria, and lived in its capital, Santander. When I was there, I heard a lot about how varied the culture is across Spain. Wanting to expand on the generalizations I would tend to hear, I renewed in the region on the complete opposite side of the country that has a distinct history and climate, Andalucía. 

Málaga was attractive to me because of its medium size and the mountain-sea combination that I fell in love with back when I lived in Santander. Also, 300 days out of the year are sunny so how could I resist? After doing some research on schools, I found the previous assistant Amrita’s blogpost on her positive experience at Universidad Laboral, and the fact that it was a large, nature-filled campus sounded amazing to me. I quickly and easily chose the school in my application portal.

Not only did it sound amazing, but that’s how the experience has been. Besides the campus of Universidad Laboral being an absolute high-school dream — full of diverse colorful flowers, trees, places to sit and hang out, vivid green patches of grass, a café — this high school has given me nothing but great memories and relationships!

There was never a time where I didn’t feel welcomed by the students and teachers. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted with positive, warm energy that has maintained itself throughout the year. The teachers I’ve worked with are really kind, personable, and understanding. I’ve gotten to know many that I didn’t even have a chance to work with, but have had mini conversations with around campus. Not only did I work with English teachers, but with history, math, art, music, and technology teachers, too. I enjoyed the variety of subjects and ways in which I was able to assist the students in class, even if it simply came down to chatting with them and getting them comfortable speaking English!

The students I worked with were great — I loved getting to know them through class activities and out-of-class conversations. After the first half of the year, all my classes changed, and I was sad to stop working with some of my previous students because we had finally gotten comfortable with each other. One of my favorite classes even threw me a surprise party the day of my last class with them, bearing gifts and a big chocolate cake to share. It was one of the sweetest experiences in my two years as an auxiliar. The students’ sociability made it easy to relate and laugh with them. They made it easy to support them and root them on in their English journey.

If Andalucía hadn’t changed its rules, now prohibiting current auxiliars from renewing in the region the following year, I would’ve renewed my application to work at Universidad Laboral. I think it’s important for students to have a friendly familiar face (that doesn’t grade them) in what can be a disheartening, difficult, and frustrating journey toward English fluency. Regardless, I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to support the students at Universidad Laboral this school year — the experience has been invaluable!

Sumarizing the First and Second Term

Convivence Team

Halloween

Mental Health month

Day against Gender Violence

 

Invisible friends

Race for Peace

 

 Andalusian Day

 Women's Day

50th Anniversary

SPEAKING TASK

 

Having a great time with English students in order to improve our speaking-listening skills.

Even teachers took part in this marvellous open-air activity!

AMRITA REKHI

 

Hola! I’m Amrita. I have been working as a Language & Cultural Assistant at IES Num 1, Universidad Laboral, Malaga since Oct 2023. I’m from India- the land of delicious food, deep history & rich culture and of course Bollywood.

 

I have travelled almost all over India, but this is my first time abroad. I have been living on my own for almost 10 years now, but living in another country all by myself was something I always wanted to experience but it gave me the jitters. So finally in 2022 I took that leap of faith, applied for this program in Spain and I can say it in a heartbeat that it was the best decision.

 

Moving to Spain was a very spontaneous personal decision. I had no clue what to expect, since I don’t speak Spanish, and I didn’t know a soul here. The only thing I wanted was to be in an environment which brings out the best in me and I can vouch for it that I got that and much more.

 

The teachers and the students have been so warm and affectionate. I do have some previous experience working as an ESL trainer, but since I wasn’t fluent in Spanish, I had to take a whole new approach. The students have been curious, enthusiastic and loving. The support of the teachers allowed everything to work out smoothly. The campus is breathtaking, and the coffee at the cafeteria is my absolute favorite. Soaking up the sun, drinking the best coffee and chatting with the teachers slowly started becoming that part of my day I looked forward to. I’m glad to say that my workplace has been a very positive environment for me. 

 

This has been an enriching cross cultural exchange, and immersing myself in the environment has definitely helped me to pick up the language. Besides the global exposure, it also gave me a chance to meet diverse groups of people, build some genuine & meaningful connections, travel across Europe and discover a whole new side of myself. It’s an experience I will cherish forever.